How I shall behave

‘O Cormac, grandson of Conn,’ said Carbery, ‘I desire to know how I shall behave among the wise and the foolish, among friends and strangers, among the old and the young, among the innocent and the wicked.’
‘Not hard to tell,‘ said Cormac.

He said:

Be not too wise, nor too foolish,

Be not too conceited, nor diffident,

Be not too talkative, nor too feeble,

If you be too wise, men will expect too much of you,

If you be too foolish, you will be deceived,

If you be too conceited, you will be thought vexatious,

If you be too humble, you will be without honour,

If you be too talkative, you will not be heeded,

If you be too silent, you will not be regarded,

If you be too hard, you will be broken,

If you to too feeble, you will be crushed.

— Instructions of King Cormac (IX Cent.)